EDITOR’S NOTE — Law enforcement officers pursued a car east of Port Angeles to Mount Pleasant Road during the chase. Police reported the incorrect road in a news release. This story has been corrected.
PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man remained in the Clallam County jail Thursday after he led law enforcement officers on a Wednesday evening car chase that reached speeds of 80 mph and rammed a police car.
Nicholas Blood, 25, of Port Angeles was booked for investigation of eluding police and third-degree assault after attempting to escape police in a nine-minute, 5.23-mile chase.
Blood also was being held on outstanding warrants for resisting arrest and second-degree criminal trespass.
He had no bail set.
“There was a very high potential for death and injury,” Interim Police Chief Brian Smith said Thursday.
It was not known if Blood was using drugs or alcohol, and police were seeking a warrant for a blood drug test, Smith said.
Highway 101
The chase on First Street and U.S. Highway 101 led east from downtown Port Angeles to Mount Pleasant Road, then back west before Blood was stopped at Baker Street, law enforcement reports said.
The chase involved four Port Angeles police officers, a police supervisor and two Clallam County sheriff’s deputies.
At 8:32 p.m., Port Angeles police received a complaint of a dark-blue passenger car driving erratically in the parking lot at Safeway on Lincoln Street, Cpl. Tom Kuch said in his report.
Observers told police the driver was driving around the parking lot with the headlights off, traveling forward and backing up.
The car was gone when police arrived.
At 9:02 p.m., officers received a report of the same car being driven erratically on First Street in the downtown area.
Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Federline located the car at First and Laurel streets, police said. Officer Dan Morse arrived moments later.
They contacted the driver, whom they recognized as Blood from prior contacts.
Blood fled eastbound on First Street, holding his door open as he drove, driving at speeds ranging from 20 to 50 mph, police said.
Morse conducted what is called a precision immobilization technique — a PIT maneuver, using a police car to force the fleeing vehicle to turn sideways and stop — in the 700 block of East First Street.
The maneuver successfully stopped the blue sedan, but officers were unable to pin Blood’s car in place with their vehicles.
“We didn’t have enough cars to block him in,” Smith said.
Blood then rammed Morse’s passenger’s side door and continued to flee, police said.
Officers continued the pursuit eastbound and out of the city limit at speeds ranging from 20 to 85 mph.
Blood went as far east as Mount Pleasant Road, where he reversed direction and began driving back toward Port Angeles, police said.
At the intersection of Highway 101 and Baker Street, Federline performed another PIT on Blood’s vehicle, and sufficient officers were there to box in the car, police said.
Allegedly rammed patrol cars
Blood backed into a guardrail and used his vehicle to ram officers’ patrol cars, police said.
Officers subdued Blood with stun guns, they said, and he was booked into jail.
No injuries were reported.
Two police cars were damaged by Blood’s sedan, Smith said.
Damage to the police cars included an estimated $2,500 in damage to Morse’s vehicle and $1,500 to a car driven by Officer Clay Rife, Smith said.
“Morse’s vehicle isn’t safe to be driven,” Smith said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
